A Bulawayo man from Richmond suburb who allegedly murdered his wife over an extramarital affair has been arraigned before the court.
Craig Walter (44) is facing a murder charge for fatally assaulting his wife Marelyne Walter (38).
The court heard that on Sunday, Craig returned to his matrimonial home from Gwanda where he works and he found his wife not home.
According to the papers, Craig had for a while been suspecting that his wife was having an affair and his suspicions were allegedly validated when he went through his wife’s WhatsApp messages between her and the purported lover.
Craig allegedly lost his temper and assaulted his wife with fists and sticks until she fell unconscious and later died at her home.
Bulawayo magistrate Stephen Ndlovu remanded Craig in custody to March 3.
He advised Craig to seek legal representation and to apply for bail at the High Court.
The State papers read that on January 23, 2021, and at around 7 PM, Craig arrived home from Gwanda where he works for a construction company and found Marelyne not at home.
“He asked his children and they told him she had left around 5 PM going to Castle Arms compound to see her friend. Craig, who had been suspecting Marelyne of infidelity, made follow-ups and met her along a footpath leading to their place of residence,” read the papers.
“He demanded to know where she was coming from and after getting an unsatisfactory response, he demanded to have sight of her cellphone. Marelyne refused and instead she threw if into some overgrown grass beside the footpath. Craig got angry and started assaulting her with clenched fists and sticks all over the body. He then looked for the cellphone and went through her WhatsApp chat and realised she was chatting with a boyfriend.”
The court further stated that Craig resumed the assault until Marelyne fell unconscious.
“She was carried to the house where she later on died. On January 25, a postmortem conducted revealed that the death was a result of Subdural Haematoma, Subarachnoid Haemorrhage and Head Trauma.”
